1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a reclosable locking tape closure for use on various fabric articles and corresponding foundations, a reclosable locking tape assembly including an add-on attachment portion and a separate foundation attachment portion, and a method using the reclosable locking tape to releasably attach a fabric add-on to a foundation, such as a bed skirt, pillow sham, tablecloth, shower curtain, or curtain add-on to a box spring, table top, shower rod, or cornice board foundation, respectively.
2. Background Information
Currently, in order to wash a bed skirt, the mattress lying on the top of the bed skirt must be lifted off, and the bed skirt removed from the box spring beneath it. The mattress is usually replaced on the box spring while the conventional bed skirt is washed and dried. The mattress is then removed again and the bed skirt is replaced. The mattress must then be replaced on the box spring without moving the bed skirt out of alignment. This is especially difficult to do when the mattress is queen or king sized, particularly for a single person of diminutive stature.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a removable bed skirt can be removed, washed, dried, and replaced without ever moving the mattress above it. An add-on attachment portion of the releasable rib and groove tape assembly is simply peeled away from a foundation portion of the rib and groove tape assembly in order to remove the bed skirt or other fabric add-on for washing or replacement. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, an edge of the mattress is lifted slightly to reattach the bed skirt fabric add-on portion of the rib and groove tape assembly to the foundation portion of the rib and groove tape assembly on the box spring foundation. The mattress need not be removed in order to remove the bed skirt.
Some conventional bed skirts have a deck section, or center panel, which holds the bed skirt in position while the mattress is being placed on the top. Here, the easily removable bed skirt fabric add-on does not require a deck section, since the rib and groove assembly holds the bed skirt in place.
The present invention is also useful for removably attaching a curtain to a cornice board, curtain rod, or the like, a pillow sham to a decorator pillow, a shower curtain to a shower rod or the like, a draped tablecloth to a table top, etc. Hook and loop strips need not be employed herein, and the bed skirt or other fabric add-on remains taut over time while the rib and groove assembly is in use.